BLOG: Social media – shaping the political playing field for years to come

So it wasn’t quite the ‘digital election’ that we were all anticipating but there’s no doubting the impact social media had on the most unpredictable campaign in a generation.

More than a million adult Facebook users clicked the ‘I’ve voted’ button whilst a recent YouGov survey found that a quarter of 18-24 year olds had used social networks to comment on politics – pleasing statistics indeed. The question is – what can political parties do to build on these progressive technological trends?

The coalition is still in its infancy and one hopes they’ll take the bull by the horns and continue to use social networking sites to communicate with their constituents. Parties are comfortable broadcasting information and now it’s important that they try to connect with people on a more personal level.

Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and the like proved to be valuable hustings platforms for all the main parties and the Tories even used Myconservatives.com to publicize party messages and promote personalised poster campaigns during the build up to the General Election.

The foundations for technological progression in the electoral arena have been laid. It’s down to those in power to pick up the ball and run with it. Despite the impending referendum on electoral reform, electronic voting is still a distant possibility but who’s to say we won’t be able to vote online in the next General Election? Of course, we’d have to be mindful of security concerns and the ramifications of introducing such a system but before we get to that stage, politicians must continue to harness the flexibility and productivity of social networking tools and close the loop on communications with their constituents. It’s a long road but we’re certainly moving in the right direction.

by Neville Upton, Jun 03 2010, 08:59 AM